The present disclosure relates generally to physiological monitoring instruments and, in particular, to a sensor that cooperates with a patient identifier to link patient data with a patient and provide quality assurance by linking the patient identifier to the sensor.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
There are numerous techniques and systems for monitoring a patient's physiology. For example, pulse oximetry may be used to continuously monitor physiologic characteristics of a patient. Pulse oximetry may generally be defined as a non-invasive technique that facilitates monitoring of a patient's blood characteristics For example, pulse oximetry may be used to measure blood oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in a patient's arterial blood and/or the patient's heart rate. Specifically, in pulse oximetry, blood characteristic measurements may be acquired using a non-invasive sensor that passes light through a portion of a patient's blood perfused tissue and that photoelectrically senses the absorption and scattering of light through the blood perfused tissue. Various wavelengths of light may be used that may or may not pass through certain blood constituents. Indeed, a typical pulse oximetry sensor includes at least two light emitters that emit different wavelengths of light, and a light detector. Based on how much light at certain wavelengths is emitted and detected, and based on absorption and scattering characteristics of certain blood constituents, an estimate of the blood content may be made based on the detection results. For example, a typical signal resulting from the sensed light may be referred to as a plethysmographic waveform, which is a measurement of the absorbed and scattered light at different wavelengths.
Once acquired, the plethysmographic waveform may be used with various algorithms to estimate an amount of blood constituent in the tissue, as well as other physiologic characteristics. This and other types of data may be collected over time to provide trend data or historical data for a patient. This trend data or historical data may be stored for use in assessing a patient's condition, reviewing a patient's progress, or the like. However, it is now recognized that such stored data can potentially be disassociated with a patient. For example, the data may be stored on a device or system that is used to monitor multiple patients, and the data for a particular patient may be confused with that of a different patient having been monitored or otherwise addressed by the device or system. Accordingly, it is now recognized that a technique for creating a strong association between such data and the appropriate patient may be desirable.
Some conventional sensors, such as conventional pulse oximetry sensors, may include an information element that stores information that can be read by a monitoring device to facilitate proper use of the sensor. For example, a pulse oximeter sensor may include a memory or a resistor that can be read by an oximeter. The information stored on the information element may include parameters about the sensor. For example, with regard to a pulse oximeter sensor, the information may indicate sensor type (e.g., neonatal, pediatric, or adult), the wavelengths of light produced by the emitters, and so forth. Certain data stored in the pulse oximeter sensor, such as the wavelengths of light associated with the emitters of the sensor, may be important for proper blood characteristic measurement. This information may be utilized in algorithms for determining values for one or more measured blood characteristics. Further, the information element may be utilized for security and quality control purposes. For example, the information element may ensure proper operation by preventing the sensor from functioning with improperly configured or unauthorized devices.
Due to the function of the information element, it is often necessary for sensor operation. Accordingly, the information element is often included in unapproved remanufactured sensors to enable their operation. However, such unauthorized remanufactured sensors may be unreliable and fail to function properly. Indeed, improper remanufacturing of a sensor or tampering with the sensor can impact the quality and reliability of the sensor, especially when such sensors include an information element with pertinent operational data stored thereon. For example, improper remanufacturing of a sensor may result in consistently incorrect measurements and/or cause malfunctions by coupling incompatible sensor components together. In a specific example, an information element for a neonatal oximeter sensor may be improperly incorporated into the body of an adult oximeter sensor during remanufacture. Thus, the information element incorporated into the remanufactured sensor may include settings for a neonatal application that do not correspond to the wavelengths associated with the light emitters of the remanufactured sensor, which correspond to an adult application. Such remanufacturing can cause improper operation and incorrect measurement of physiological characteristics.